The present invention is directed to a safety for firearms. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an ambidextrous safety for firearms such as pistols.
A safety is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm to help ensure safe handling. External safeties that allow a user to manually maneuver a lever to an “on” or “off” position are common. In the past, such levers were on the left side of the firearm such that they provided quick and easy use by a user's right hand thumb for right handed use. Some of those firearms allowed for removal of the safety and reinstallation of the safety on the right side of the firearm for left handed use. However, ambidextrous manual safeties are also known that provide a lever on both sides of the firearm for use by either a left or right hand thumb.
Such two sided ambidextrous safeties must typically be made in two parts that are fastened together. However, when fastened together, “backlash” or looseness of the two parts of the safety is a problem. It would be desirable to provide a safety having two parts in a small, compact device that provides good retention of the two parts and minimizes backlash of the two parts relative to one another.